


Early Days

by eerian_sadow



Series: Melodies of Life [14]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Early Relationship, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Kissing, M/M, Miscommunication, mech slash, mech smoochies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-09
Updated: 2014-07-09
Packaged: 2018-02-08 05:06:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1927719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eerian_sadow/pseuds/eerian_sadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's early days in their romantic relationship, and Prowl and Sideswipe have to find the right balance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Early Days

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wicked3659](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wicked3659/gifts).



> this bit has some vague spoilery bits for A Hard Knock Life pt 5 (coming soon). it doesn't give away any major plot points, but if you're worried about accidentally finding out even a little smidge of things to come in that thread, you might want to give this one a wait.

"Hey, Prowl," Sideswipe stopped the tactician before they left the meeting room. "You wanna get together after we get off shift tonight? Maybe get off the base for a while and take in a show?"

Prowl's expression remained carefully neutral. "I would enjoy spending time with you, but you know I dislike most human movies."

"Oh, not a movie." The red mech shook his head. "I have tickets to for an outdoor play. Sunstreaker said it's really good."

"Did he." Prowl's expression didn't shift.

"Yeah, he did." Sideswipe fidgeted. "I just... I thought you'd like to go and..."

"Sideswipe, I'm teasing you." The black and white mech's expression softened into a small smile. "I thought you knew me well enough for that by now."

"Oh. OH!" The twin gave him a relieved grin. "Sorry. I'm just so worried about screwing this all up. So, do you want to come? It's Shakespeare."

"I do enjoy many of the humans' classic tales. I would be happy to accompany you."

Sideswipe beamed. "Great! I'll see you when your shift is over then."

"See you then." Prowl returned his smile. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Me too!" The red twin leaned in and gave the Praxian a quick kiss on the cheek, then dashed out of the room before Prowl could chastise him for it.

The Autobot second shook his head at Sideswipe's quick retreat but the smile didn't leave his face. It was technically against regulations for them to engage in public displays of affection, but that was a rule he rather enjoyed breaking.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Prowl was sorting the last few of the days paperwork into their appropriate files when Sideswipe stepped into his office.

"I know I'm early, but I thought maybe you'd like to have some energon before we go." The supply officer held up two cubes filled with pink and blue layered energon. "Cosmos let me raid the kitchen and everything."

"Tell me that's not high grade."

"No way! I remember how much you hate having high grade when you're out in public." He set one cube down in front of the tactician. "It's regular energon, layered with a copper and sulfur blend. Smells a little funny, but it tastes good."

"Thank you, Sideswipe." Prowl smiled at the younger mech. "It never ceases to amaze me how well you remember details like my favorite energon flavors."

"Well, you know. It's what I do. Remember details, I mean." The red mech ducked his head in embarrassment. "It's really not that big a thing."

"For some of us, it is." The black and white mech picked up the cube and carefully placed it in his subspace. "We should enjoy it while we're at the play. The humans won't have any concessions on hand for us to enjoy."

"Sounds good to me." Sideswipe grinned and tucked his own cube in his subspace pocket. "We can head out then, whenever you're done with that paperwork. We have special seating, but it still might not be a bad idea to get there before the humans."

"You know them better than I do," Prowl said, stacking the file folders up. "I will trust your judgment. Let's get going."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The theater venue was large and situated in the center of an even larger park. It was shaded by trees, though Prowl could easily make out lights that were carefully placed in the foliage to illuminate the stage after the sun set, or on overcast days. The stage itself was constructed to be harmonious with the surrounding trees, and looked to have been built and sculpted from the native wood. It was an impressive work of art, and the tactician wondered if that was what had originally attracted Sunstreaker to the place.

"So, what do you think? Great seats, huh?" Sideswipe grinned as he sank down onto the blanket he'd carried.

Prowl nodded as he looked down at the stage. "We will be able to see everything, quite well. It is a shame we cannot fit into the standard human seating, however. The trees look as if they have been grown to provide some natural acoustic enhancement."

"Oh yeah? That's kind of cool! I didn't know the humans knew how to do things like that."

"The humans have always put a great deal of thought into their entertainment pursuits. I imagine this venue was a great labor of love for whoever created it."

"It probably was. Sunny said it's pretty famous." The red mech pulled out his energon cube and a small basket and set them down on the blanket. "It's a shame we didn't find out about it before you were turned into a sparkling. They were doing a series of musicals and I love the choreography in those, even if they're kind of silly."

"I'm sure they will have more of them. We will have to make more time to see them." Prowl sat down next to his companion and reached for the basket. "I didn't know you liked musicals."

"Just the live action ones. They have some amazing dance numbers." The younger mech looked away, suddenly unhappy. "I didn't say anything, because I didn't want to remind you of before."

"Before?" The black and white mech removed a cookie from the basket and set it back down.

"You know, before." At Prowl's blank look Sideswipe sighed. "I didn't want to remind you of Spotter."

"Spotter would have hated musicals," The older mech said firmly, reaching for Sideswipe's hand. "And you are not her. Having similar interests will not do irreparable damage to my psyche."

"But I don't want to hurt you. Ever."

"Some hurt will always be unavoidable. What will matter to me is how we work through it together."

"How can you be so sure?" The younger mech let the elder hold his hand and soothe him.

"Because I have had a very long time to heal." Prowl leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Sideswipe's lips. "And because you have shown me more love than I have ever known before."

"That's really sappy, you know that?" The red mech smiled brightly.

"Sappy or not, it is true." The black and white mech kissed his partner again. "Now, we should enjoy our energon and our cookies and this play. I don't want this night to be ruined by someone who's long dead."

"Me neither." The supply master rested his head against the tactician's for a moment. Then his bright smile returned and he reached for the cookie the other mech had pulled out of the basket. Prowl squawked as Sideswipe stole it. "Oh stop that, you newspark. Open your mouth."

The black and white mech frowned for a moment. "I am capable of feeding myself."

"Prowl, you are ruining my moment."

"And you stole my cookie. Mechs have scrubbed floors for lesser offences."

"You are completely hopeless." Sideswipe put the cookie back in Prowl's hand and reached for the basket. "See if I try for a romantic gesture in public again."

Prowl nudged him gently with one shoulder. "I have every confidence that you will."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Prowl picked up the datapad on his desk and activated it as he sipped his morning ration.

_Prowl, about last night. I'm sorry. I overstepped your boundaries and probably made you really uncomfortable, and that was unfair of me. If you're not mad still, I'd like to make it up to you tonight. But if you are, I understand. Let me know what you want to do._

_Love you,  
Sides_

Prowl set the datapad back down and shook his head. He had intended to be playful at the park, but Sideswipe had clearly been too focused on not "screwing up" to have realized. Sideswipe didn't need to make anything up to him, but he clearly needed reassurance.

The tactician opened up a comm line to the other mech and waited for an acknowledging ping before he spoke. "Sideswipe, I got your message."

_"Look, Prowl, I'm really sorry._

"Stop apologizing for things you didn't do. I'm not angry and I wasn't angry last night."

_"You're not?"_

In the background, Prowl heard Jazz crowing something that sounded like "I told you!" and he smiled. His friend had probably spent the better part of the morning trying to reassure his partner that they were not about to break up. "No, Sides, I'm not. I want to get together again tonight, in fact. If you're willing, that is."

Sideswipe's relief was clearly evident in his reply. _"Okay. Um, your place or mine? Or did you have something else in mind?"_

"My place, around 1800 hours. Bring your favorite game and I will provide everything else."

_"Prowl, all I have is video games."_

The tactician smiled, and wished the other mech could see him. "I know. Bring your favorite. And your console, as I do not have one of my own."

 _"Okay!"_ The red mech was clearly beaming. _"I'll be there at 1800 sharp!"_

"I'm looking forward to it."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Prowl set the snack table carefully, making sure there were plenty of cookies, candies and other treats as well as the sweet energon that was Sideswipe's favorite and his own preferred Seeker grade. He doubted they would eat all of it, but he was well aware that it was tradition to have a wide variety of treats for game night, and Cosmos had outdone himself in making sure that Prowl had everything he had asked for.

He was surprised to realize that he was a little nervous. He hadn't played host for anyone but Jazz--who tended to just raid his cabinets--for a very long time.

His door chime rang and Prowl reflexively checked the time. Sideswipe was not only on time, he was a few minutes early. Panic flared briefly in his processor--what if he had forgotten something important?--and he understood how his partner must have felt the night before. Resolutely, he stomped his nervousness down and went to the door. He and Sideswipe had known each other for millennia; it wouldn't matter if he forgot something or even did something like spilling his energon all over the other mech.

"Hi." Sideswipe smiled at him as the door slid open. "Here as ordered, with video games."

Prowl felt his doorwings fall. "It was not an order. You can say no to me."

"Aw, frag," the red mech stepped forward and pulled him into a completely unexpected hug. "That's not how I meant it. We suck at this teasing thing."

The black and white mech leaned against the other, relieved that Sideswipe hadn't misinterpreted him so completely. "So it seems."

"How did we do this before? It used to be so easy."

"I think we were more concerned with being friends than with making certain everything was 'right' all the time." Prowl pulled away from the hug and led the frontliner into his quarters. "We have both been too afraid of doing things wrong to enjoy ourselves."

"So what do we do about it?" Sideswipe took in the treats spread across the table in front of Prowl's couch and blinked. "Wow, that's a lot of goodies."

"I think Cosmos tripled my order," the tactician confirmed. "They are all part of my master plan, however. We are going to eat sweets and play video games until we forget that we're pretending to be nervous with each other. We have been friends for longer than some species have existed, and that is more important than any other element of our relationship."

"What?" The red mech cocked his head to the side.

"We've only gotten this far because of our friendship, and because of how... easy it was to be around each other. Even if we decide, however improbable it may be, that we aren't meant to be a couple, we will always have that. I don't like that we've lost our ease with each other just because we've become more than just friends."

"Me either. I just... didn't know how to say it or how to not be so worried about everything." Sideswipe sighed. "You're not the only one who hasn't had a romantic relationship in a really long time."

"I know, and now I know why you didn't which was something of a mystery to me before." Prowl smiled. "We're going to be fine. And we are going to sit down and play games until we remember that we were friends first."

"What if I want to feed you candy and kiss you til you can't cycle your cooling systems?"

"As long as we aren't in public, I don't think I would have a problem with that."

"Cool. I want to do that second part first." The red mech wrapped his arms around the black and white and pulled him in for a deep kiss.


End file.
